Konkan Railway
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| Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. | |
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| Type of Company | public Limited |
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| Founded | July 19, 1990 |
| Headquarters | Navi Mumbai |
| Area served | Indian states of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka |
| Industry | Railways |
| Parent | Indian Railways |
| Website | Konkan Railway |
The Konkan Railway (Railway Symbol:KR) is a zone of the Indian Railways which operates along the Konkan coast of India.
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[edit] History
When India got independence the railway network set by the British did not connect Mangalore with Mumbai. Eventhough there was a strong need to connect these two cities, the region through which the railway track passed through was geographically very tough and would be an engineering challenge.
Due to the uneven terrain of the region, railway lines were not laid for many years. National leaders such as Madhu Dandavate and George Fernandes who hailed from Konkan played a major role in the conception of Konkan Railway. In October 1984, the Ministry of Railways decided to take a final location engineering-cum-traffic survey for the west coastal portion from Mangalore to Madgaon, which is a total distance of 325 km. In March 1985, the railways decided to extend the scope of their survey to include the left out length of the west coast line extending from Madgaon to Roha. The Southern Railway was entrusted with this final location survey. They submitted the project report for this route to the Railway Ministry in 1988 and named it as the Konkan Railway after the coastline around which it runs.
It was constituted as a separately incorporated railway, with its headquarters at CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai and E. Sreedharan as its first Chairman and Managing Director. By May 1999, the Konkan Railway had laid a 760km broad gauge route from Roha to Mangalore along the western coast of India (the Konkan region). This project was substantially completed by October 1997 when Mr. Sreedharan was asked to take up the responsibility of construction of the Delhi Metro Project.
[edit] Organisation
KR does not have divisions like the other Indian Railway, however, it has two regions with headquarters at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra and Karwar in Karnataka. The Ratnagiri region extends from Roha to Sawantwadi, while the Karwar region extends from Pernem to Thokur (the latter being where Southern Railway begins, a few stations north of Mangalore).
[edit] Route
The route is a single-line track, and is not electrified yet. It has been designed for high-speed traffic (160 km/h). It is open to goods and passenger traffic. The route, which runs parallel to the Arabian Sea coastline, offers some of the most spectacular views of any Indian rail journey.
Note: Although KR is currently single-line, KR and South Western Railway lines run parallel from Majorda to Madgaon, making that section a double-line.
[edit] External links
- Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. Official Website
- Konkan Railway - The Net Resource Centre - A Historical and Archive Store for the Rail Enthusiast
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